New York State Sportswriters Association Class B poll: Maine-Endwell No. 1, Alden No. 2 (both same as last week).

Alden in the state semis: First appearance. Last week’s regional win was its first after losing the two previous years to eventual state champion Hornell.

Maine-Endwell in the state semis: 2-1. Lost in Class B in 1998 to Lackawanna (6-0), which went on to win the state championship; came from behind to beat Iroquois (33-28) in Class A in 2006 on its way to the state title; beat V-Aquinas in Class A last year (19-16) on its way to the state title.

How they got here: Alden used a big second half to beat East Rochester/Gananda, 35-7, as Corey Barczykowski ran for three touchdowns and 273 yards on 24 carries to break the school single-season rushing record (he now has 2,136). Maine-Endwell romped to a 50-14 win over Section III (Syracuse area) champion Cazenovia in the Central Regional.

Maine-Endwell pre-snap read: After Alden’s season ended the last two years against one of the best programs in the state in Hornell (50 straight wins going into today’s C semifinal), the Bulldogs face another seasoned power with a great resume. Maine-Endwell, winner of 23 straight, is in its first season in Class B after winning not only two straight Section IV (Binghamton area) Class A titles – it also won last year’s state championship with wins over two other familiar postseason suspects in Aquinas (semifinals) and Section II (Albany area) champion Burnt Hills (final). M-E has scored at least 41 points in all of its games but one – and that was a 28-7 home victory over Section IV Class A champion Union-Endicott, loser to Sweet Home Friday night.

What’s next: The winner advances to the NYSPHSAA championship next Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. The opponent will be the winner of the East Semifinal between state B poll No. 3 Marlboro (11-0) of Section IX (Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties) and No. 5 Glens Falls (10-1) of Section II (Albany area); that game is at 3 p.m. today in Kingston.

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